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Eric Lorden

Chef Eric’s Spanish inspired menu was beyond delicious and Nick Defasio from M.S. Walker selected some pretty amazing wines to go with. I highly recommend trying both of these outstanding wines and am planning to look for them at our local shops–a lovely white, the Burga’ns, Albarino, that Eric paired with a haddock entree; and a rich chocolatey red, the Casa Castilo, Monastrell, accompanying beautiful smoked paprika pork with grilled vegetables.

Passports wine dinners are typically in the $40.00 to 45.00 dollar range and I simply don’t know how they can afford to do that, truly an exceptional value The four course dinners are wonderfully inventive, the portions generous, and the wines, top of the line. Every third Thursday of the month – GO!

A wonderful celebration of locally caught fish and fisherman, local produce and farmers, and top notch local chefs

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Cape Ann Farmer’s Market and Seafood Throwdown and last night’s competition did not disappoint. Local chefs Eric Lorden, owner of Passports Restaurant, and Danielle Glantz of Pastaio Via Corta joined forces (dubbing themselves the Center Street Chefs) to compete against David Gauvin of Addison Gilbert Hospital and Todd Shopkowski of SnapChef.

The mystery fish, revealed moments before the competition began, was caught by Al Cottone, Captain of the Sabrina Maria. Fresh, whole, beautiful and fabulous whiting, alternately named Silver Hake, was presented to the chefs and off they went through the market shopping for farm fresh local ingredients. With only fifteen minutes to shop and an hour to prepare, the race was on!

Cargo Shorts?, How Will Jimmy Garoppolo Do In His Four Starts With The Pats?, Eric’s Pirate Party Wrap Up, Over The Bridge Band, Soul Rebel Project On Crane Estate Thursday Will Be Filmed By Craig, Selling Used Bras On Cape Ann Yard Sale Facebook Page, You Don’t Poke The Sausage, Rating The Summer, What Can Be Done To Stop Dog Owners That Ignore The Law and People Who Litter At The Beach.

Nick DiFazio from M.S. Walker did an outstanding job selecting the accompanying wines. The three entree-sized servings were simply exquisite and, along with the blood orange sorbet for dessert, it was one of my favorite dinners I have ever experienced. Thank you Passports for the wonderfully joyful cooking. Hats off to Chefs Eric, Jeremy, and Alex!

The cost of the wine dinners is 45.00 per person, which in my opinion is an extraordinarily low price considering the caliber of the food and wine. Each course is served with a VERY generous glass of perfectly paired wine, four glasses in all.

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We enjoyed yet another outstanding Passports wine dinner event this past Thursday evening, hosted by owner and Chef Eric Lorden and wine expert Matt Rose. Each of the four wonderfully delicious courses was paired with the perfect wine from the Loire Valley of France. And too, my husband and I enjoy so much the welcoming wait staff at Passports. Michael and Sally were our servers and they are always friendly and professional. We especially appreciate their fine and seamless service during the wine dinner events with a dining room bursting with patrons.

Passports serves lunch and dinner seven days a week. They open at 11:30 am. You’ll love their everyday menu and they also post daily specials on Facebook, which you can check out here. Passports will be resuming their wine dinners in the early fall.

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After each Passports wine dinner, I think, how can they possibly top this? Last night’s menu surely took the cake!

The charming and knowledgeable Matt Rose presented a fine selection of East Coast wines from Bedell Wines of North Fork, Long Island, and with that theme in mind, Chef Eric Lorden, Jeremy, and company created a menu that was pure American and pure delish.

Where else can you go for a dinner of four sublimely delicious courses, each course paired with a different wine, outstanding and welcoming service, learn about new wines, and all for the amazingly reasonable price of $45.00??

Cell phone photos do not do this food justice, but at least you can get an idea.

Eric Lorden, if you are reading this, please add all these dishes to your daily menu!!

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Thanks so much to our hosts, Passports owner and Chef Eric Lorden and wine expert Matt Rose, for a lovely evening of exquisite food paired perfectly with a selection of fine southern Italian wines.

Superb, and my new favorite entree, is Eric’s rosemary scented duck leg, with walnut gremolata* and red quinoa, which was paired with an delicious rich and spicy red, Pipoli Aglianico, Del Vuture. What a treat! The shrimp scampi was equally as tasty, and for your information, Eric only purchases fresh native Gulf shrimp, no questionable farm-raised Asian shrimp is served at Passports.

Matt did an absolutely excellent job explaining the different regions from where the wines hailed as well as sharing interesting stories about the Sicilian farmers and families that grow the wines. As usual, the service at Passports was outstanding. Don’t miss the next Passports wine dinner; I recommend making an early reservation. The restaurant was filled with equally as happy and satisfied patrons as were my husband and I.

Hosts Matt Rose and Eric Lorden

* I had to look up exactly what is gremolata (or gremolada) and it is a chopped herb condiment classically made with garlic, parsley, and lemon zest.

Thursday night we attended Passports Sparkling Wine Dinner and it was out of this world delish. We Loved everything–the sparkling wine selections, especially the creamy Blanc de Blanc Brut Dargent from France–and each and everyone one of the dishes was fantastic. But if I had to choose a favorite of the favorites, I must say that Eric’s Oysters Rockefeller is sublime. Perhaps he’ll share his recipe–I am going to get right on that!

Oysters Rockefeller was created in 1899 by Jules Alcitore at the world renowned New Orleans restaurant Antoine’s. At that time there was a shortage of snails coming into America from Europe. Jules was looking for a substitute and he wanted the replacement to be local to avoid future problems in procuring the product.

My copy of Antoine’s cookbook does not include the recipe; to this day, it is still top secret.

The sesame encrusted diver scallops with jasmine rice was definitely an entree I’m inspired to try making at home.

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I am speechless, without words, and really full from the first Community Night at Passports held for the League of Women Voters! The portions were over-the-top, the flavors were fantastic, and the vibe was amazing. Every participant could not help but smile and toast to the folks around them that were having an equally great time. And above all, money was raised for local scholarships! Thank you again to Lyla, Eric, and the entire PASSPORTS staff for making this a wonderful night that bares repeating!! I look forward to the next big Community Night, and the good times and funds it will raise. See you there! ($15 for 3 courses?..Yep, it’s true)

Last night, Passports held their first “community dinner night.” Ten percent of the evening’s total receipts will be donated to the League of Women Voters scholarship fund. Judging by the fun had by patrons as well as from the staff’s enthusiasm, Passports’s community dinner event was surely the first of many more to come!

Each Tuesday night, Passports is available for an event to raise funds and awareness for a worthy cause. The worthy cause need not be a non-profit organization. Eric Lorden, Passports’s owner and chef, explains that this is one way in which he can give back to the community that has supported his business for over two decades. February 12th of this year marked Passports Restaurant’s twentieth year in business!

What makes Passports’s community dinners unique is that in addition to having the option to order from the regular menu, guests are invited to order from the very specially priced fifteen dollar three course dinner. For the League of Women Voters event, the prix fixe menu included choice of soup or salad, steak or bouillabaisse, and the option to choose from any one of Passports’s regular menu dessert items. It is worth repeating that diners can order from either the regular menu or the prix fixe menu.

If you are looking for an inviting and welcoming venue (with exceptionally delicious fare) for your worthy cause, contact Eric at passportsrestaurant@gmail.com.

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A wonderful time was had by all at Passport’s Restaurant’s superb “New Wines” pairing event. That’s Passport’s owner and chef Eric Lorden in the photo above. Don’t let the guise mislead; Passport’s has fabulous salads. The front of Eric’s t-shirt is all about oysters.

Each course of the four-course “New Wines” dinner was superb; the service provided by Nicole, India, and Sally was top-notch (and always so welcoming), and the new wines paired were exquisite. Several of the favorites-of-the-favorites were the Beef Bracciole, especially enjoyed by my husband, and mine (if I had to choose) was the exquisitely-cripsy-on-the-outside-sweetly-tender-and-richly-flavorful-on-the-inside Jerk Duck Leg, accompanied by a delightfully zippy mango salsa, and served with yummy mashed sweet potatoes.

Nick DiFazio from MS Walker was our sommelier and he did an outstanding job describing the wines. Tohu’s Sauvignon Blanc is a fabulous blend of grapefruit and other citrus flavors, and the Lamberti Prosecco–light, fresh, and sparkly, not overly sweet. The absolute knock out of the evening was Brazen’s Zinfandel. More than just a big bold red, the undertones were richly mellow and tasted wonderfully of dark cherries and was very chocolatey!

The new wines are a great addition to Passport’s stellar wine list and we are looking forward to trying them with the usual delicious dishes on the main menu, as well as with Eric’s fabulous nightly specials.

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Over Labor Day weekend we went with our daughter’s boyfriend, Matt, to Passports for a beautiful lunch. We were greeted by wonderfully friendly, helpful, and super professional India, Lyla, and Shawna.

As all who have eaten at Passports know, within a few moments after being seated, guests are immediately served fresh from the oven, piping hot popovers. This is always a welcome treat, and was especially so for Liv and Matt that afternoon as they had been hiking all around Coolidge Reservation earlier in the day.

Next we shared a plate of Eric’s fried oysters and without a doubt, I think they are THE BEST FRIED OYSTERS in town! What makes Passport’s oysters so special you may be wondering? Because every single time we go, their fried oysters are fantastically crisp on the outside and sweet-salty fresh oyster perfection on the inside; Passports oysters are never, ever soggy or greasy.

We ALL ordered Eric’s fabulous Lobster Salad Roll and it was divine–big chunks of fresh sweet Captain Joe and Sons succulent lobster meat, surrounded by a lovely array of fresh seasonal veggies (mine is pictured, requested without roll).

Thanks Eric, Lyla, India, and Shawna for welcoming Matt and showing him one of the reasons why we love Gloucester!

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Free GMG Gloucester Sticker

As long as supplies last if any GMG folks want a bumper sticker but can't drop down the dock, just send a self addressed and stamped envelope longer then 7 and a half inches and I'll drop one in the mail for you.

Send the self addressed and stamped envelope to the dock at 95 East Main St Gloucester Ma 01930 care of Joey (put my name in big letters to make sure it gets to me)